Introduction
Welcome to our seminar on Activating the Gifts of the Spirit. I trust that you'll download off the internet the manual you'll need, and you can just follow it through with us. I encourage you, if you're in a group, that you just practice with the people are in the group. Remember, it's just a practice; so as you practice, you'll get feedback from the person, and you'll be able to explore what it is to hear the voice of God, and to flow with the gifts of the spirit.
Main Message
In this first session (Section #2 in your notes) we're going to look at the Gifts of the Spirit; and we're going to read from 1 Corinthians 12:1.
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, or concerning operations of the spirit, brothers, I would not have you to be ignorant”.
Paul is writing to the church... Notice the first thing: God wants you to move in the supernatural. You are designed to be a supernatural being. You are a spirit being living inside a body.
With your body you can communicate with the external world; with your spirit you can communicate with the realm of God, the realm of the spirit.
You are designed to flow and access with the supernatural realm of God; you don't have to become a spiritual person - you already are spiritual. You already have a spirit dimension to you.
Your natural body has five senses: you can see, you can hear, you can taste, touch, smell. Your spirit man also has spiritual senses. With your physical senses you can interact with the physical world. You receive signals, and from that you can begin to identify certain things. It's the same in your spirit; but many people haven't developed their spiritual capacity.
1) The first thing is: you are a spirit being - and God wants you to operate supernaturally. That's His plan; and so Paul writes: “I don't want you to be ignorant of the supernatural realm, or how to work with the Holy Spirit”.
The word ‘ignorant’ means: having no practical experience or understanding of this; so the reason things are hard, is because we don't know how. Over this seminar, we want to take away the mystery of how hard it is, and make it so it's actually really simple. Everything that God does is incredibly simple, and it requires just an open heart to receive.
You don't have to be highly educated to move in the supernatural. You don't have to be highly educated to flow with the Holy Spirit. He will use anyone that will just open their life up and say: God, here I am, I'm available, work through me - so God will work through you.
God wants us to be empowered, and equipped to bring His power to people. The church has long lost the flow of power; but now, in these days, God is restoring power back to the church. We'll see that part of the great commission is that you be anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit, and you are able to lay hands on the sick, you are able to minister to people - you are able to flow with the Holy Spirit.
That makes sense, because the world isn't going to come into a church building; the church has to go to the world, and bring God to the world. We want to show you how to do this; and we want to teach you how to work with the Holy Spirit, in an environment where you're just practising and learning; then your journey is to develop what you learn and grow it. Don't wait for some revival, and don't wait for some big experience; take what we give you and teach you, and begin to apply it and practice it, and you'll get better and better and better. God is more willing to use you than you realise!
2) The second thing is: we're going talk a little bit about the gifts of the spirit themselves.
1 Corinthians 12:7 – “Now the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man, to profit with all”
It uses the word 'manifestation’, it means: something that's visible, tangible, that people can see. He's saying: God wants to operate through you, in a way that's tangible, that people can experience Him.
I prophesied over someone the other day. I brought a word from God to them, and I shared with them things God showed me, things which were so personal, and so connected to that person, that when I asked them: how did this affect you; they said: I felt like my whole life was open before God, and He was here, talking to me personally.
The gifts of the spirit are manifestations of a person - the Holy Spirit; so it's not like you have some kind of gift. You have a person; and you work with Him to bring His life forth. It's all about a relationship with the Holy Spirit.
It says: “the manifestation of the spirit is given to everyone” - so who is left out of the word ‘everyone’? There's no one left out - this is for you! Everyone includes you.
1 Corinthians 12:11 – “Now these work the same self spirit, dividing to every man severally, as He wills”.
God is very clear in the word - He wants every person to be able to flow in the spirit.
He gives the gifts of the spirit to everyone; so if you haven't functioned in them, or flowed in them, or received them yet - it's mostly because you don't know how to. If we show you how to, and you extend your faith, God will work through you. It says: He gives them to everyone.
3) It is a gift. The gifts of the spirit are something God gives you - so you don't have to earn it.
You don't have to stay in church a long time for this to happen. As soon as the Holy Spirit empowers you, or comes on you (and you're baptised in the spirit) - you are able to operate in the gifts of the spirit immediately - if you will learn how to recognise and work with the Holy Spirit. It's very, very simple. It's never hard. It's just we have to grow this dimension in our life.